A recently discovered alternative to the indoors, going "outside," offers adventurous explorers exposure to things such as wind, sunshine, and the naturally occurring mazes found in corn fields. Leave the indoors with today's Groupon: for $12, you get two all-inclusive tickets to the Yee-Haw Fall Festival (a $24 value) at the Double JJ Resort on the Back Forty Ranch, just one hour north of Grand Rapids in Rothbury. The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday until November 14, when Thanksgiving turkeys stage a bloody, baseball-batted coup against any remaining jack-o'-lanterns.
Yee-Haw Fall Festival is an annual phantasmagoria of seasonal events sprawled across the Double JJ's Back Forty Ranch. While the rest of the fam takes a hayride to the pumpkin patch to find a ghoulish gourd with plenty of face space for painting, navigate your way through the bewildering twists and turns of the hay maze as you evade its straw minotaur. Fall fun-seekers can also enjoy a healthy jolt of autumn adrenaline by riding a bull, braving the zip lines, or watching cowboys soar majestically through the air during a stunt show. Otherwise, squander your bottle-cap inheritance on the pig races before doing a victory lap on the stagecoach.
The artsy and the crafty, meanwhile, can try their handy hands at candle making, paper making, rope making, and even building their own buzz saw (not a joke; you can actually do this). DIY drinkers will get a chance to make their own cider—or make their own applesauce with the apple slingshot. As the golden hues of twilight seep into the sky, cuddle up on a hayride with warm donuts and warmer cider as you soak in the foliage fireworks of the surrounding trees. You'll also have access to barrel-train rides, free popcorn, petting farms, midway games, a mining sluice, a corral show, and a great deal more.
Although not included in this Groupon, the Double JJ is a dude ranch resort with impressive accommodations. Should you choose to extend your fall festivities beyond Yee-Haw, you'll get to enjoy horseback-riding stables, an indoor water park, a championship golf course, haunted Halloween attractions, restaurants, recreational gunfights at high noon, and lodging.
Reviews
TripAdvisors give the Double JJ Resort an average of four owl eyes, and the resort has more than 3,000 Facebook fans:
- The activites [sic] at the Double JJ were so interesting for a family from NY State who had never been to a ranch type facility before…There are so many options of things to do. – Makuzie, TripAdvisor
- There were plenty of fun things to do for everyone of all ages and many unforgettable moments. – loveJJ, TripAdvisor
Double JJ Ranch, Waterpark and Golf Resort
Every winter, Double JJ Resort’s foliage gives way to blankets of snow as the ranch bursts into a frenzy of activity. Horse-drawn sleighs clomp down frosty trails, dogsleds barrel across the fields, and kids go tubing down a 660-foot run on the Sundance Slopes as snowmen run for their lives. The annual New Year's Eve festivities, which include a family-fun party and steakhouse celebration with dancing, are some of the other ways the 1,000-acre dude-ranch resort strives to furnish visitors with indoor and outdoor pursuits.
Families can check into one of the cabins, condos, suites, lofts, or log homes on the property and spend the weekend exploring dozens of attractions. The heart of the resort is a 60,000-square-foot indoor water park, which boasts one of Michigan’s tallest indoor water slides. Back on dry land, guests can head to the golf course or partake in dozens of outdoor activities, including target sports, fishing, and trail rides.
Customer Reviews
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